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AFP

  • US Army to cut 40,000 soldiers: official

    Under the cost-cutting plan, the Army will be down to 450,000 soldiers at the end of the 2017 budget year, even though in 2013 it argued in budgetary documents that going below 450,000 troops might mean it could not win a war, USA Today said.

    By comparison, the Army swelled to 570,000 men and women during the peak of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the newspaper said.

    Some 17,000 civilians working for the Army will also be laid off, the official told AFP, confirming the USA Today report.

    The paper quoted a document it had obtained and said the cuts are being made to save money.

    It will affect virtually every Army post domestically and abroad, USA Today said

    The defense official told AFP that the Army plans to announce the cuts soon, with USA Today adding that the matter would be addressed this week.

    Across-the-board government budget cuts are due to kick in in October and if Congress does not avert these the Army will have to lay off another 30,000 soldiers on top of the 40,000, according to the document quoted by USA Today.

    It comes just a day after President Barack Obama said that the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group would step up its campaign in Syria, while cautioning a long battle remained.

    Brigades stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska will be among those downsized, USA Today said.

    Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, told the paper that the cutdown “makes no strategic sense.”

    More than a year after IS fighters overran much of Iraq and Syria, the United States and its allies are struggling to turn the tide against the extremists in an air campaign known as Operation Inherent Resolve.

    The Pentagon last month said it was sending 450 additional US troops to act as advisers to help Iraqi forces seize back control of the western city of Ramadi from jihadist fighters.

    Speaking to reporters after a briefing at the Pentagon on Monday, Obama warned the war “will not be quick. This is a long-term campaign.”

    He added that more needed to be done to train government forces and Sunni tribal fighters in Iraq, as well as moderate Syrian rebels.

  • Pakistan hockey coach blames govt for Olympic failure

    Pakistan finished a poor eighth in the World Hockey League semi-finals in Antwerp on Saturday, a tournament which served as qualifying for the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team needed to finish in the top five to have any chance of qualifying.

    It will be the first time in Pakistan’s 67-year history that they will not feature in the field hockey event at the Summer Games, a failure which prompted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to set up a committee to investigate.

    Coach Shahnaz Shaikh said the government had not funded the team properly.

    “As a head coach I take the responsibility but I had been asking the federation, the ministry and the government for funds — without funds we were not able to prepare properly,” Shaikh told reporters on the team’s return at Islamabad airport.

    “We need to pour money in hockey to lift the structure and give financial support to the players who don’t even have a contract.”

    Shaikh said players had to live with an allowance of just $20 a day in Belgium.

    Pakistan, three-time Olympic and four-time world champions, have rapidly slumped in the sport. They finished a poor 12th and last in the 2010 World Cup held in India.

    Pakistan also failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and were seventh in the 2012 Olympics in London.

     

  • Mayweather stripped of WBO welterweight belt

    Mayweather had failed to meet the deadline last Friday for paying the $200,000 sanctioning fee required by the WBO after he took the belt from Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas in the richest fight of all time, earning a reported $220 million in the process.

    WBO rules require boxers to pay 3 percent of their purse to fight for a world title up to a maximum of $200,000.

    The rules also prohibit WBO champions to hold any belts in any other weight divisions. Mayweather is currently also the WBC and WBA champion at junior middleweight (154lb), as well as at welterweight (147lb).

    A statement on the Puerto Rico-based sanctioning body’s website confirmed that Mayweather, regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, was no longer the WBO champion.

    “Mr. Mayweather, Jr. failed to pay the $200,000.000 fee required of him as a participant of a WBO World Championship Contest,” said the statement.

    “Despite affording Mr. Mayweather Jr. the courtesy of an extension to advise us of his position within the WBO Welterweight Division and to vacate the two 154-pound world titles he holds, the WBO World Championship Committee received no response from him or his legal representatives on this matter.

    “The WBO World Championship Committee is allowed no other alternative but to cease to recognize Mr. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as the WBO Welterweight Champion of the World and vacate his title.”

    After Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) defeated Pacquiao to unify three of the four major welterweight world titles, he had declared that would vacate all his titles in order to give younger fighters the chance to win belts.

    “I don’t know if it will be Monday or maybe a couple weeks,” Mayweather said at the post-fight news conference.

    “I’ll talk to my team and see what we need to do. Other fighters need a chance.”

    American Timothy Bradley, who defeated countryman Jessie Vargas for the WBO interim welterweight belt on June 27, is now expected to be formally elevated to full champion status by the WBO.  – AFP

  • Greece votes on financial future, government – and maybe euro

    Across the country of 11 million people — on far-flung Aegean islands, in the shadow of the 2,400-year-old Parthenon in Athens, to the northern border shared with fellow EU state Bulgaria — voters were set to cast their ballots.

    The rest of Europe, and international investors, will be watching intently, unsure of the outcome that could greet them on Monday. Polls suggest both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps are neck-and-neck.

    Greece’s youthful Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a radical leftist who came to power six months ago, has staked his political career on the plebiscite.

    He announced it a week ago in a bid to break a five-month impasse with international creditors and insists a ‘No’ vote would force a restructuring ofGreece’s massive debt and a softening of drastic austerity conditions.

    Supermarkets emptied

    But many who first backed him have swung to the ‘Yes’ camp, heeding warnings from EU leaders, notably European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, that a ‘No’ result could see Greece expelled from the 19-nation eurozone — a so-called “Grexit”.

    Greece was officially declared in default on Friday by the European Financial Stability Facility, which holds 144.6 billion euros ($160 billion) of Greek loans, days after becoming the first developed country to miss a debt payment to the IMF.

    Tsipras’s flamboyant finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, on Saturday accused Athens’s creditors of “terrorism” for trying to sow fear. around the vote.

    He pointed out that no legal mechanism exists to force Greece out of what is meant to be an “irreversible” monetary union.

    Greeks were nevertheless alarmed this week when the government imposed capital controls, closing banks and limiting daily ATM withdrawals to just 60 euros ($67), to stem a bank run.

    The banks’ liquidity was expected to dry up entirely in just one or two days’ time unless the European Central Bank (ECB) injected funds quickly.

    “Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst,” said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year-old Greek woman who works in finance in the capital.

    Supermarket shelves have been emptied in the days leading up to the referendum.

    Mothers, elderly men and university students were seen pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or coming out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list.

    Tsipras betrayed no doubt about the path he had set in a final mass rally late Friday in Athens urging a ‘No’. He told a crowd of 25,000: “On Sunday, we don’t just decide to stay in Europe — we decide to live with dignity in Europe, to work and prosper in Europe.”

    Austerity or Grexit?

    The referendum is seen as so crucial that some Greeks living outside the country made the trip back to vote as no provisions had been made to permit ballots in embassies for the hastily called poll.

    “I came just to vote,” said Kostas Kokkinos, a 60-year-old Greek living on the nearby EU island nation of Cyprus, as relatives greeted him at Athens’s airport. He said he was voting “Yes” and then leaving just a day or two later.

    Thanasis Hadzilacos, a professor in his late 60s working at Cyprus’s Open University, brought his summer Greek vacation forward to be able to vote in Athens. “I think I will vote ‘No’,” he said.

    But he added: “I don’t think either result will make much difference anyway, especially as it is so close.”

    Financial analysts also said they doubted a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ would greatly change things. Many said they expected negotiations would resume in either case, though a ‘No’ could still conceivably hasten a “Grexit”.

    Some of the world’s top economists, though, said Greece’s least-bad choice was to vote ‘No’: accept a painful exit from the euro but then claw its way back to economic stability through a devalued national currency.

    “A ‘No’ vote would at least open the possibility that Greece… might grasp its destiny in its own hands” and shape a future that “though perhaps not as prosperous as the past, is far more hopeful than the unconscionable torture of the present,” wrote Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Columbia University in the United States.

    Paul Krugman, another Nobel winner, who writes for The New York Times, agreed, saying a ‘No’ vote “will also offer Greece itself a chance for real recovery”.

  • Eleven dead in China building collapse, three missing: state media

    More than 50 workers were in the building in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang province when it came down on Saturday afternoon, state-run China Central Television (CCTV) and the official Xinhua news agency reported.

    Thirty-three suffered injuries, four of them serious, the report said. Nine others escaped and three were unaccounted for.

    Xinhua said earlier the cause of the collapse was being investigated.

    Photos circulating on Chinese social media showed a man being carried on a stretcher by what appeared to be police officers, while rescuers and other personnel stood on top of the rubble.

    Building collapses and other industrial accidents are not uncommon in China, where many structures and facilities are old, safety procedures can be lax and rebuilding has not kept up with the country’s remarkable economic growth.

    China’s top safety watchdog in May blamed poor construction and weak safety standards for a fire at a nursing home that left 38 people dead.

    In April, almost 30,000 people were evacuated after a fire broke out in a Chinese chemical plant which blazed for nearly 50 hours before the flames were finally extinguished.

    And in November, a fire at a coal mine in northeastern China killed 26 workers, in one of the country’s most highly accident-prone industries.

  • Chile stun Argentina to win first Copa America title

    Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez struck the winning spot-kick for Chile, as the hosts clinched a 4-1 shoot-out victory when the game ended goalless after extra time.

    Sanchez chipped the decisive penalty down the middle past Sergio Romero to spark wild celebrations in front of a 45,000 capacity crowd at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago.

    Chile took control of the shoot-out when Gonzalo Higuain blazed his penalty over the bar before Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo saved Ever Banega’s spot-kick.

    Argentina captain Messi, aiming to inspire the South American giants to a first international title in 22 years, could only look on distraught as Chile celebrated.

    The four-time world footballer of the year had repeatedly spoken of his desperation to win a title with Argentina after winning everything at club level with Barcelona.

    But the 28-year-old superstar was to suffer more disappointment, only 12 months after enduring another agonising extra-time defeat in last year’s World Cup final against Germany in Brazil.

    Chile’s win was their first ever victory over Argentina in the Copa America.

  • Kvitova joins Wimbledon exodus, Federer, Murray into last 16

    Czech second seed Kvitova, who also won the 2011 title, lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to veteran campaigner Jelena Jankovic who goes on to play 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska for a spot in the quarter-finals.

    Kvitova’s earliest loss at the All England Club since 2009 leaves just Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Lucie Safarova as the last remaining top 10 seeds going into the second week.

    “I’m overwhelmed. I’m so excited. My heart is still pumping,” said the 30-year-old Jankovic on reaching the last 16 for the fifth time.

    Kvitova has now bowed out of the last four Grand Slams before the quarter-finals.

    “It’s not great to lose in the third round. Not to be in the second week of the favourite tournament for me is really sad,” she said.

    Seven-time champion Roger Federer defeated big-serving Australian Sam Groth 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2.

    The 33-year-old Swiss, chasing an 18th major title, will next face Spanish 20th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

    Groth had the consolation of hitting the second fastest serve ever at the tournament — 147.2-miles (236.9-kilometres) per hour.

    Murray faces golden oldie

    Murray survived a shoulder injury scare to make the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

    Murray, the 2013 champion, required a medical time-out for treatment on his right shoulder after dropping the first game of the fourth set.

    But the world number three then reeled off six games in succession to set up a clash against Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.

    “The shoulder is fine. The trainer came out and manipulated my back. He gave it a few good cracks,” said Murray.

    “It’s a 90-kilo guy lying on top of me so it’s not that pleasant. He said the shoulder was like a machine gun going off when he laid on top of me.”

    Karlovic became the oldest man in 39 years to reach the last 16 when he beat French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

    The 36-year-old giant fired 41 aces in a 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (11/9) win.

    The 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, the Czech sixth seed, saw off Spain’s Pablo Andujar 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

    He next faces Gilles Simon who beat Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-2.

    Their all-French clash started on Court One but was completed at 10:30pm (2130GMT) under the roof and lights of Centre Court after darkness fell.

    Dreadlocked German qualifier Dustin Brown was unable to follow his triumph over Rafael Nadal when he slumped to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3 defeat to Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki.

    Qualifier Brown joins Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios who all lost their next match at Wimbledon after knocking out Nadal over the last four years.

    Troicki goes on to face Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, who beat British wildcard James Ward 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 8-6.

    It is the 29-year-old Serb’s first last-16 run at Wimbledon since 2012 and his best performance at a Grand Slam since returning from a 12-month drugs ban in July last year.

    First timers

    US Open champion Marin Cilic took just two games to see off John Isner on Saturday after returning to finish their third round match poised at 10-10 in the final set.

    Croatian Cilic, the ninth seed, beat the US 17th seed 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 12-10 in a match that lasted four hours and 31 minutes in total after it had been suspended late Friday due to bad light.

    Cilic next faces wildcard Denis Kudla, the last American man in the tournament.

    Danish fifth seed Wozniacki reached the last 16 for the fourth time with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi.

    The former world number one will face Spain’s Garbine Muguruza after the 20th seed shocked 2012 semi-finalist Angelique Kerber 7-6 (14/12), 1-6, 6-2.

    Muguruza saved nine set points in the first set on her way to a debut appearance in the second week at Wimbledon.

    Romania’s Monica Niculescu also made the last 16 for the first time, beating Czech world number 134 Kristyna Pliskova 6-3, 7-5.

    She will face Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky who put out 2013 runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2 to book a spot in the last 16.

    Belarusian qualifier Olga Govortsova is another fourth round first timer thanks to a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 over Magdalana Rybarikova.

    She next tackles American 21st seed Madison Keys, a semi-finalist in Australia this year.

  • Crying Greek pensioner: the story behind the poignant photo

    When he was told at the fourth that he could not withdraw his 120 euros ($133), it was all too much and he collapsed in tears.

    The 77-year-old told AFP that he had broken down because he “cannot stand to see my country in this distress”.

    “That’s why I feel so beaten, more than for my own personal problems,” Chatzifotiadis said.

    The image of him sitting outside the bank, openly crying in despair with his savings book and identity card on the floor, was captured by an AFP photographer illustrating how ordinary Greeks are suffering during the country’s debt crisis.

    Athens had imposed capital controls and shut all banks since Monday to stem a haemorrhage of cash, but on Wednesday allowed some branches to reopen for three days so retirees who have no bank cards could withdraw their pensions — capped at 120 euros.

    Recounting how he had gone from bank to bank in a futile attempt to collect his wife’s pension, Chatzifotiadis said when he was told at the fourth “that I could not get the money, I just collapsed”.

    Both he and his wife, like many Greeks in the north of the country, had spent several years in Germany where he “worked very hard” in a coal mine and later a foundry.

    And it is to Berlin, which is being blamed by many in Greece for its hardline stance in demanding the government impose more austerity measures for fresh international aid, that Chatzifotiadis is sending his wife’s pension.

    “I see my fellow citizens begging for a few cents to buy bread. I see more and more suicides. I am a sensitive person. I can not stand to see my country in this situation,” he said.

    “Europe and Greece have made mistakes. We must find a solution,” he added.

    But Chatzifotiadis feels he can do little to change the situation, and he is not even sure if he would be able to vote at Sunday’s referendum on whether to accept international creditors’ bailout conditions.

    European leaders have warned that a ‘No’ vote would also mean no to the eurozone.

    Pointing out that the polling station is 80 kilometres (50 miles) away, Chatzifotiadis said: “I have no money to go there, unless perhaps if my children would take me in their car.” – AFP

     

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